College of Charleston
South Carolina (FSN)
Downey's Jumper Downs CofC, 85-82
12/22/2007 5:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Devan Downey's three-point play with two seconds left in the game capped a rally from 15 points down as South Carolina defeated the College of Charleston 85-82 in men's college basketball action at the Colonial Center on Saturday.
Zam Fredrick II hit five 3-pointers - he was 0-for-2 before then from beyond the arc - to spark a 21-6 run by the Gamecocks (6-5), who went up 82-77 on Fredrick's final trey with 2:27 left.
But the Cougars (4-6) tied it when Tony White Jr. canned a 3-pointer and was fouled. White missed the free throw, but moments later hit a layup to knot it at 82-82 with 44.5 seconds left.
With time running out, Downey drove the left side of the lane and hit a short jumper and was fouled. Downey made the free throw for the winner margin.
Fredrick led the Gamecocks with 21 points while Downey added 18. The Cougars were led by Dustin Scott, who had a career-high 20 points. White added 17 points while Jermaine Johnson had his second straight double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
The Cougars scored 14 straight points as part of a 17-6 run in the final 5:18 to grab a 43-33 halftime lead. The Gamecocks led 27-23 with 6:58 left then went cold, hitting just three of their last nine shots and committing three turnovers.
The College of Charleston, meanwhile, was sizzling, hitting seven of its last eight shots - including 3-pointers by Johnson, Scott and Andrew Goudelock, whose trey gave the Cougars a 43-29 lead - their biggest lead of the half.
Down 49-34 early in the second half, the Gamecocks rallied to 51-44 on Dominique Archie's dunk with 16 minutes left. But after a time out, the Cougars answered, outscoring South Carolina 10-2, capped by two straight lay-ups by White to go up 61-46 with 13:32 left.
